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As a judge unless the bird is a fly away or goes way back behind the gunners, the no-bird call is usually a no win situation. Don't call it and hope the dog comes up with it without too much of a hunt, but feel terrible when the dog hunts forever, or call it only to watch the dog run directly to where the first "bad" bird fell and hunt his heart out there. As a handler this is one of those things where I usually don't want them to call no-bird unless it's so long it effects the other marks.

John

I agree, some forget that calling a no bird does not erase the fall from the dog's memory.

Sorry , I have to brag a little. A few years back I got 11 no birds in 1 day. Top that one.

I normally only get a couple a day at an event.. Something to tell my grandchildren.

Pete

Wow. Ithink I would have gave up.
I aint run alot of tests but have worked alot and have caused some no birds, or bird flys out of crate. Ive been told I throw like a girl before and I told him to fire me. Almost heat stroked sitting out in 90 pluss heat with no shade
But its all fun!!!! Id rather throw birds than marshal

Once I release the dog to handler control, I've decided that it's a retrieveable bird. Too many new handlers think that a "no bird" needs to be called if their bird is not an exact duplicate of every other bird that's thrown. If the bird becomes unretrieveable after the dog's released, I have another way to complete the test sequence than a "no bird"....the handler sits the dog at the spot, he and I walk out and toss a bird to the ground, and then have the dog retrieve that bird. The dog is judged to the spot where the bird should have been and then for the delivery to the handler.

I've got another issue. I'm against sluicing a bird in the field. First of all, too many times, make that more than once is too many, the gunners sluice after the dog has been released. The other reason is that it represents an unfair advantage for the dog that's running, particularly on water. Most dogs see the bird flighted and shot and then are expected to mark the fall. Sluicing the bird "points" to the bird while it's on the ground. I'd much rather have the dog pick-up a live flier that we then need to dispatch. If the bird takes flight, see above.

The pheasant flier for my dog at the Master National (2012) was only dinged. She had a long-hard hunt in tall grass and couldn't recover. She found it... but she was young and it fried her little brain and she couldn't pull it together for the memory bird. Oh, well. At another Master series she had two no-birds on the fliers... but also two on wingers! I think the kids on the wingers were smoking dope or something. Once the judge signaled and nothing happened. Did the kid fall asleep??? THe other time, the winger malfunctioned. Again... she was young and it just messed with her too much.

On the whole, a really salty dog will keep it together and pull it off when it counts. What happened to us wasn't strictly "fair" but on the other hand, it probably exposed some weaknesses in my dog. She's grown up a lot and we're half way to qualifying for 2014 MN. See you guys in Corning!!!

There is always a lot of pressure shooting flyers, your thrower makes or breaks it, and yes there is sun glare,tree line problems, wind changing ,how the bird is presented ,no one hates the no bird greater then the gunner.Then you just do the best you can and remember what's it is like when your running your own dog , on a different note, I have been thanked after finishing shooting more often by the pro trainers , I think they know a little better what's it like.

There is always a lot of pressure shooting flyers, your thrower makes or breaks it, and yes there is sun glare,tree line problems, wind changing ,how the bird is presented ,no one hates the no bird greater then the gunner.Then you just do the best you can and remember what's it is like when your running your own dog , on a different note, I have been thanked after finishing shooting more often by the pro trainers , I think they know a little better what's it like.

Not to mention birds that won't fly, etc.

I have found that throwing a couple of excellent wing shots out at the flyer station often doesn't cut it. Shooting flyers is different and often it is better to have someone who has shot a lot of flyers even if they are not the best shots.

Sorry , I have to brag a little. A few years back I got 11 no birds in 1 day. Top that one.

I normally only get a couple a day at an event.. Something to tell my grandchildren.

Pete

Don't even want to try to beat that one! Holy Buckets!! Most I have ever had is 3 in one test with the same dog, it worked out great because he was closer to me as we walked to the line each time, he thought he was getting in trouble for beating me to the mat! 11 with one dog in one day I think you would have to either 1. hit the cooler early or 2. check in with your Dr. for some blood pressure meds!